A prominent member of the Northern Elders Forum, Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, has expressed concern over President Bola Tinubu’s silence amid growing speculations that Vice-President Kashim Shettima may be replaced ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
Speaking on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme on Wednesday, Baba-Ahmed said the President ought to have publicly addressed the matter to put it to rest.
The controversy gained momentum in June following the All Progressives Congress (APC) stakeholders’ summit in Gombe, where some party loyalists endorsed Tinubu for re-election but made no mention of his running mate, Shettima. The omission sparked debate within political circles, with claims emerging about plans to drop the vice-president.
Presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, had earlier dismissed the rumours, describing them as a “non-issue,” adding that Tinubu would decide on a running mate only after the party’s next convention.
“In a presidential system, the candidate is nominated before selecting a running mate,” Onanuga said, while also denying any rift between Tinubu and Shettima.
However, Baba-Ahmed insisted that the issue deserved a direct and emphatic response from the President himself.
He said, “I think, somewhere along the line, to be honest, the president should have done something a long time ago.
“If all these stories about dropping the vice-president for somebody else, another northern vice-president, maybe a Christian, maybe from somewhere else, have absolutely no iota of truth, it would have taken just one thing: the president directly and personally saying, stop this nonsense.
“I have confidence in my vice-president, I work well with him, I am happy with him, and I want this nonsense about me dropping him now or in the future to stop. I will take a decision on who my running mate is in 2027 when we get there. In the meantime, we have work to do. But he didn’t say that. His people didn’t say that.”
Baba-Ahmed said the lack of a clear statement from Tinubu has created unease and raised unnecessary political tension.
He added, “It’s worrying; let me just say it is worrying.
“If what I have said is exactly what the president thinks, he should have said it. If he doesn’t say it the way I have, he should have found a way, but it should come from him, it should be direct, and it must be emphatic.”
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